Please help! What to do…

[niceidea]

Hi

my mum is having a big birthday soon. She is the type of person who NEVER puts herself first, nor does she realise how special she is. I want to get her a present that makes her realise how precious she is to us. I can’t quite explain how amazing a person she is but she has been the rock of our family for years and one of the few people who truly puts everyone else before herself. I’m going to get her some nice jewellery as I know what she loves but I also want to get her a sentimental present. Does anyone have any ideas or inspiration? We have a big massive family and she means the world to everyone- I was thinking of getting a book and sending it to people for them to write a message in a page each about how much she means to them, or maybe a favourite memory over the years? Does that sound silly or does anyone have any other better ideas? Or maybe a book of happy birthday messages might be better but I didn’t want people to think that was instead of a card for her and then she gets less cards because not me. But would a nice message or a memory be a bit daft? I still have a few months so plenty of time to contact all her friends and extended family.

sorry, I’m not the best with ideas but I just want to do something sentimental for her because she doesn’t quite realise how amazing she is.

if anyone has any thoughts or ideas I would be extremely grateful! xx

When I left a job, all the people who worked for me made up a book with messages about how they appreciated me as their manager, how I’d encouraged them and what a good team we were.

I treasure that book and often reread those messages.

How about a photobook with pics in chronological order?

A book sounds lovely, but only if everyone puts in effort to write something brilliant. Realistically, Auntie Pat will struggle to think of what to write and will hold onto the book for a fortnight. Then someone else will be rushed into writing in it and it’ll be less good.

There's a service online to do this (https://www.newlywords.com), which might be easier if you're collecting contributions from people all over the place. When I was involved in one, there were various options for things you could add - a memory, a photo, a list, etc.

My mum is so similar and just have a big birthday. I did a book with photos and messages and she absolutely loved it! I made it through vista print I think, give yourself plenty of time to get it delivered. I got messages via email and WhatsApp and gave everyone specific deadlines. I also asked people to ask others I didn’t have contact info from. It was the loveliest thing seeing what everyone loves about her and she has to accept it - it’s in black and white!

Definitely do it! For a 40th my friend's wife organised this but she got us all to write our bits in a Google doc and send her photos over WhatsApp, was great because there wasn't a physical item to lose. So if you're family aren't total technophobes that could work...

What about a scrap book type journal? Photos from her life with loving messages from people in her family, friends, work colleagues etc.

I'd go with the photo book. You can ask people to send their digital or scanned pictures and any comments to annotate them with (you can put text boxes on) e.g. your mum's sibling might have pictures of when they were kids etc.

I have used Boots and chosen their leather effect cover a couple of times and they have been lovely.

I think that’s a nice idea. Also a photo album if she doesn’t have any

Thanks for all the help :) yeah, I’m worried in case it puts people on the spot (ie, like what if nobody has a specific memory they can share or they don’t want to) but I know how much it would mean to my mum if I could make it work. Maybe pictures + messages would be a good balance so it’s a mix of both? Thanks again!

Apologies- cheeky bump for traffic!

That sounds absolutely lovely!! I'd definitely do that